1. Field of the Present Disclosure
This disclosure relates generally to methods for the disposal of waste and, more particularly, relates to such a method wherein disposal is conducted in a high-volume manner using crisscrossed trenching and backfilling.
2. Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98
McCarthy, U.S. Re. 20056 discloses a method of disposing of garbage, ashes, refuse and other inferior materials wherein a trench is dug and filled with the inferior materials and an adjacent trench is next dug and the soil taken therefrom deposited on top of the inferior materials in the first trench. This procedure is repeated until the area of land to be reclaimed is covered, a large quantity of the inferior materials thus disposed of, and the land is raised.
Jones, U.S. Pat. No. 3,511,056 discloses a method for the disposal of trash and mechanisms there for, the method being inclusive of the steps of excavating soil at a disposal site to provide a trench or depression extending below the initial ground surface, elevating the removed soil to a place above the initial ground surface with a portion of said soil being intermixed with trash before the trash and soil intermixture is re-deposited in layers in the dug depression, compacting the intermixed trash and soil materials in said depression though use of apparatus supported at least at the initial ground level elevation and having compactor elements for extension there below. The re-deposition and compaction operations are continued until the dug depression is at least refilled to an elevation corresponding to the initial ground level, and thereafter the remainder of the removed soil is redistributed to provide a cover for the intermixed deposit and to establish a new ground elevation higher than the initial ground level. Water may be added to the intermixture to improve the compaction characteristics.
Hemphill, U.S. Pat. No. 3,597,927 discloses a method and apparatus for collecting and disposing of refuse by collecting refuse from a multiplicity of garbage cans which are adapted to be automatically dumped into a compacting unit where the refuse is compacted into a bale. The bales are transported to a digging apparatus which provides a ditch by digging two parallel spaced-apart vertical slots within the earth and removing the earth therefrom by passing a knife edge blade perpendicularly to and at the lower extremity of the slots to thereby continuously remove an elongated rectangular disengaged portion of the earth. The bales are placed below the surface of the ground and covered with the removed earth so as to provide the ground with improved moisture retention characteristics.
Schleede, U.S. Pat. No. 3,978,673 discloses a method of disposing liquid waste which permits incorporating large quantities of pumpable liquid wastes in the form of sludge, slime and slurry, in the surface of the earth. The method involves the steps of continuously excavating earth from one region and transporting it to and depositing it at another region and thereafter depositing the liquid waste on the earthen material. The earth is initially excavated to depths which substantially exceed the normal agricultural tillage depths, i.e. to depths of the order of at least six feet, by digging the earth from one side of a trench and then transporting it and depositing it at the other side of the trench after which the waste liquid is deposited on the earthen material so transported. This permits very large quantities of liquid waste to be incorporated in a relatively small surface area.
Fassell, U.S. Pat. No. 4,010,098 discloses a method for the treatment of solid waste and sewage sludge with the recovery of natural resources comprising subjecting all or at least a portion of the sewage sludge to wet oxidation reaction to reduce the COD by an amount of at least 50% and preferably 50-85% and using the excess heat from the wet oxidation reaction to dry the solid waste and subjecting the combined solids from the wet oxidation reaction and the solid waste to pyrolysis under non-oxidizing conditions whereby the products from the pyrolysis reaction are readily separable into valuable constituents which are easily recovered.
Manchak, III et al, U.S. Pat. No. 5,242,246 discloses a soil surface remediation apparatus useful for decontamination of oil or chemical spill sites and toxic waste containing sites comprises a soil treatment apparatus mounted on a mobile trenching machine tractor which excavates trenches in a contaminated site to remove contaminated soil to the surface apparatus where the soil is decontaminated and is immediately replaced into the excavated trench in a continuous operation. Hydrocarbons or other useful by-products such as precious metals may be recovered from the soil. Both deep trenching and shallow trenching embodiments are disclosed.
Carter et al, U.S. Pat. No. 5,280,757 discloses a process for the disposal of municipal solid waste whereby a plasma arc torch is used as an independent heat source in an enclosed reactor vessel to gasify municipal solid waste and produce a medium quality gas and an inert monolithic slag having substantially lower toxic element leach ability. The gas has lower levels of metals and semi-volatile organic compounds, particularly dioxins and furans. Other materials may also be gasified, for example, coal, wood and peat.
Hater et al, U.S. Pat. No. 6,742,962 discloses a trench located in a landfill including the combination of a liquid infiltration piping system and a horizontal gas withdrawal piping system, the combination allowing for simultaneous liquid infiltration and gas withdrawal from a landfill.
The related art, described above, discloses methods for the disposal of various forms of waste using trenches dug in an adjacent, parallel fashion. However, the prior art fails to disclose disposing of such waste using trenches dug in a grid pattern, thus greatly increasing the amount of waste that can be disposed of per acre of the disposal site. Additionally, the prior art teaches the collection or disposal of byproduct gases. The prior art, however, fails to teach an easily implemented, relatively low-cost method of collecting such gases. The present disclosure distinguishes over the prior art providing heretofore unknown advantages as described in the following summary.